Influential Marketing BlogReflections on creating compelling marketing, advertising & public relations strategy | Rohit Bhargava2018-11-08T20:02:49Zhttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/feed/atomRohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67942018-11-08T20:02:49Z2018-11-08T19:59:10ZThe Queen-inspired film Bohemian Rhapsody film was poorly rated by critics, yet became a big box office hit. Earlier this year, the same thing happened to Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Show musical film about the life of PT Barnum. Why are critics so out of touch with what real people like? And why do we love the

]]>The Queen-inspired film Bohemian Rhapsody film was poorly rated by critics, yet became a big box office hit. Earlier this year, the same thing happened to Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Show musical film about the life of PT Barnum. Why are critics so out of touch with what real people like? And why do we love the movies that “experts” (who presumably understand film) rate so badly?

As this article suggests, “one thing many critic-proof hits have in common is brand recognition. You know what you’re getting.” While this may be the case, it could also be the simple fact that we are primed to look for different things. While a critic may know more about the cinematography or be able to compare the film to others in its genre – most people are simply looking for great entertainment value.

This insight is useful to consider outside the world of film as well. Are you creating something that only a select few people who know what to look for will love – but the rest won’t understand? Too often it is easy to seek influencer approval instead of bypassing those critical voices and focusing instead on something that that the majority of your audience can love.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67912018-11-08T19:49:33Z2018-11-01T19:36:31ZThis was a week filled with more social media stupidity than usual. In a single day I read two disturbing stories that got me thinking about the dangers of our social media addiction. In one, an excited baseball fan posted a picture of his World Series ticket (with the bar code visible) only to an observant thief

Clearly we need help curbing our over reliance on mobile phones. This same week, author and startup advisor Sarah K. Peck wrote a fascinating article about four experiments she tried in order to overcome her own social media addiction. Her theories to test included avoiding social media for 30 days, limiting herself to a single “social media happy hour” for one hour a day, and using blocking apps like Freedom to control where she spent her time.

Her discovery, aside from the fact that avoiding social media is hard, is that self-discipline is key but that means something different for everyone. For some, this might mean removing social media apps from your phone altogether. For others, perhaps it’s using a time limiting app such as Freedom to limit your time on social media altogether.

Regardless of the tool or technique you use, finding ways to curb your addiction is not only possible today – it might just offer the side benefit of saving your life.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67882018-11-08T19:35:48Z2018-10-26T19:31:11ZThe truth can seem hard to find these days. One of my biggest challenges in putting this weekly email together to share with you is finding some perspective, particularly when it comes to Trump. As you might expect, many of the news sources that I subscribe to and use to compile this report are far

]]>The truth can seem hard to find these days. One of my biggest challenges in putting this weekly email together to share with you is finding some perspective, particularly when it comes to Trump. As you might expect, many of the news sources that I subscribe to and use to compile this report are far too fixated on Trump dutifully reporting stories that stoke the exact outrage that benefits only him. Yet a big part of what I teach in my talks and workshops is the need for being more open minded and so I actively seek out alternate perspectives.

One way I do that is by watching analysis from Dilbert creator (and self-declared Trump evangelist) Scott Adams who wrote a book referring to Trump as a “master persuader.” This week Trump threatened to pull the US out of a 144-year-old global institution known as the Universal Postal Union, a move that was widely supported by many. For a story like this, reading multiple news sources on the same story may be enough to get the full perspective.

The point is – the only way to truly decipher the truth is by choosing not to be lazy. Read things you don’t agree with from more than one source. Consider that the person you hate might be capable of doing something right. And perhaps even relearn the ability to get angry without being blinded by outrage.

The interesting thing about anger is that it can be channeled. Rage, on the other hand, is usually just waiting for a chance to erupt.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67862018-11-08T19:30:46Z2018-10-17T19:25:45ZThis week the father of Amy Winehouse announced a world tour in 2019 featuring a “hologram” of his daughter on stage. A digital avatar of Winehouse, who died in 2011 from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, will “perform” some of her most popular songs in a concert accompanied by a live band, real backup

]]>This week the father of Amy Winehouse announced a world tour in 2019 featuring a “hologram” of his daughter on stage. A digital avatar of Winehouse, who died in 2011 from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, will “perform” some of her most popular songs in a concert accompanied by a live band, real backup singers and lots of special effects. In a world where thousands of people are already paying to see concerts of a completely fabricated digital personality, it’s not a leap to think they might also be willing to pay to see a holographically resurrected one. If it works, I might finally have that chance to see Michael Jackson perform live that I always regretted missing.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67822018-11-08T19:25:29Z2018-10-15T19:20:17ZAs Washington Redskin’s running back Chris Thompson shares, “Fantasy football, it makes us not human. It’s almost like people think we’re just robots out there, performing for you.” In a sport sometimes described as our modern day gladiator ring due to how often the sport causes long term inury and even death among its participants, Thompson has a

]]>As Washington Redskin’s running back Chris Thompson shares, “Fantasy football, it makes us not human. It’s almost like people think we’re just robots out there, performing for you.” In a sport sometimes described as our modern day gladiator ring due to how often the sport causes long term inury and even death among its participants, Thompson has a fair complaint. Back in the time of the gladiators, when people saw those competitors as less than human — it wasn’t long before they started seeing each other the same way. We should be afraid of history repeating itself.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67792018-11-08T19:19:30Z2018-10-08T19:15:02ZThis week the Library of Congress mapped out an ambitious vision to expand its collection of digital content and broaden access to all of it. On the surface, cataloging all of this data seems like the ultimate impossible task because of how exponentially it is growing. It’s hard to imagine how any one group will be able

]]>This week the Library of Congress mapped out an ambitious vision to expand its collection of digital content and broaden access to all of it. On the surface, cataloging all of this data seems like the ultimate impossible task because of how exponentially it is growing. It’s hard to imagine how any one group will be able to make sense of it all.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67762018-11-08T19:14:31Z2018-10-03T19:09:40ZThis week I made my annual trek to Snug Harbor on Staten Island for the Future of Storytelling conference. I make it a point to come every year, and this year I was lucky to moderate a session with Jill Cress, the CMO of National Geographic, who is helping the brand move from “reverence to relevance.” At the

]]>This week I made my annual trek to Snug Harbor on Staten Island for the Future of Storytelling conference. I make it a point to come every year, and this year I was lucky to moderate a session with Jill Cress, the CMO of National Geographic, who is helping the brand move from “reverence to relevance.”

At the event, there was a combination of fascinating performances from a rapper about consciousness, a virtual baby simulator, a futuristic Irish dancing troupe, and all sorts of other artists doing interesting things. At dinner, my table had a debate we had about the nature of stories and whether it’s better to experience them as a passive observer or to have some control in how they ultimately get played out. It reminded me of the Netflix show Black Mirror.

We already have the ability to filter media based on our interests or world view. That power has made many people narrow-minded and unable to have empathy for anyone unlike themselves. Could the choice to offer interactive endings to popular shows perhaps make that problem even worse? I’m not sure we came to a good conclusion in our dinner conversation. The only thing we agreed is that we’ll all be watching when the show finally comes out.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67732018-11-08T19:08:40Z2018-10-01T19:05:05ZLast year I got my test results from the 23andMe genetic testing and found it to be fascinatingly useless. The numbers told me I was 99% South Asian and offered head-scratching “insights” like that I have an “average chance of hating chewing sounds.” This week an excerpt from a new book called A Brief History of

]]>Last year I got my test results from the 23andMe genetic testing and found it to be fascinatingly useless. The numbers told me I was 99% South Asian and offered head-scratching “insights” like that I have an “average chance of hating chewing sounds.” This week an excerpt from a new book called A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived devastatingly refers to these tests as “genetic astrology” and debunks the science behind them. It’s a compelling read and effectively raises a red flag on the prevalence of data that may be nothing more than quantified bullshit.

Both demonstrate the other side of data – where platforms with proprietary data usually hidden behind closed walls are publicly offering access to small bits of it for very specific uses. As we get access to more data that promises to be somehow personalized, we will all need to build our ability to separate the useless from the useful.

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67412018-09-21T13:53:27Z2018-09-21T13:53:27ZOn September 13th Time magazine ran a cover story on the plight of underpaid teachers in America. A few days later, an Amazon worker published an expose about inhumane working conditions and low pay in Amazon’s warehouses, while Bloomberg reported that the retailer is considering opening 3,000 cashierless stores by 2021. To cap off the week, the World Economic

]]>0Rohithttps://www.rohitbhargava.com/?p=67382018-09-21T13:44:28Z2018-09-19T13:39:45ZToday there are plenty of examples of campaigns to help people become comfortable with their own bodies. Yet some have criticized this body positive movement as perhaps keeping people from admitting they are obese. One Newsweek article worried that people may use it as an excuse to justify their weight. This movement has also gone far beyond only body

This movement has also gone far beyond only body weight. American Apparel has created a line of clothing for any of 27 different skin tones, and there is a lingerie brand focused on women who have smaller sized breasts. The “acne positive movement” is another example that is covered in this feature piece, where people find more confidence in facing the world showing their pimples without lots of makeup.

There is a fascinating conflict right now between accepting yourself as you are versus trying to improve yourself (in the case of losing weight) or treating your condition (in the case of acne). As one expert shared in this article on Refinery: “Body acceptance is not at odds with motivation to engage in healthy behaviors.” In other words, the quest to be better shouldn’t keep us from being happy with who we are right now.